Tobacco cutting apparatus



y 1961 o. E. EISSMANN 2,984,276

TOBACCO CUTTING APPARATUS Filed April 9, 1958 VENTOR (mm/20L ml 12W ATTORNEY Un e States P fl i This invention relates to a method and apparatus for cutting tobacco and similar material, more particularly with keeping the cutting means clean.

In the manufacture of tobacco products, it is often desired to cut the tobacco leaves into strips or ribbons.

This has been accomplished by means of one or more rotating cutters acting on the tobacco to be cut. When cutters are employed in' this manner, the liquid componentof' the tobacco leaf,consisting of water, natural oils and tars, flavoring compound and the like, further on called the sap, issues from the lines of severance of the tobacco leavesand adheres'to the knives where the sap dries and in considerably short time, builds up hard crusts which interfere with the proper operation of the cutting mechanism. Different measures have been tried to prevent this from occurring, such as mechanical wipers or scrapers and the plating of the knives with different materials but thesesolutions have not been found satisfactory.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide atobacco cutting devices which avoids having cutting knives gumming up so as 'to have the apparatus continuously operating with minimum maintenance.

It is also an object of this invention to sufiiciently compress the tobacco against the knives, during the cutting operation, was to prevent any free surface on the knives on whichthe sap cou'ldadhere, accumulate and harden.

Another object of this invention is to prevent gumming by driving the cutters at a sufiicient high speed to throw off by centrifugal force the tobacco sap while still in a fluid state.

A further object of this invention is to prevent gumming of the knives by heating the metal parts of the cutting mechanism and thus keeping the sap in a fluid state so as to facilitate its being wiped off by the tobacco itself or being thrown off by centrifugal force.

Another object of this invention is to prevent gumming of the knives by cooling the cutting device to prevent adherence of the gum to the knives and thus facilitate the removal of the tobacco sap by the tobacco itself or by centrifugal force.

A further object of this invention is to have the spacer members between the cutting knives made of insulating material so as to avoid the overheating or the overcooling of all of the tobacco during the cutting operation.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progresses. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, like characters of reference have been applied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which make up the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of 'an embodiment of my invention showing an upper set of cutters and a side section of a lower set of cutters for cutting tobacco and like material.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-section taken through line 2--2 of Fig. l.

Patented May 16, 1961 "gumming of the cutting knives may be employed with any suitable apparatus which is so designed as to enable this method to be employed. Basically, this method may utilize one or more'of the following steps, namely rotating the cutting knives at sufficiently high speeds as to throw off the gum, or compressing the tobacco between the knives sufficiently as to continuously wipe off the. gum from the knives during cutting.

To further facilitate this the knives may be heated to keep the tobacco in a fluid state or the knives may be cooled to avoid the accumulation of the gum thereon.

To illustrate my method I have disclosed for purposes of illustration only, and without intending to limit myself to this specific apparatus one type of cutting mechanism which readily enables my method to be carried into eifect.

Two rotating shafts or rollers 4 and 6, shown in Fig.

1, contain cylindrical bores 2 through their centersand nuts 12. are also utilized to adjust the cutting spacing of said knives to thereby obtain the size ribbon or shred desired.

The tobacco travels in the direction of the arrow 14 through guides 16 and 18. Suitable side guides, not shown, laterally confine the tobacco being cut as it passes.

through the cutting knives 8. After being cut, the tobaccois discharged from the cutting mechanism at exit 20.

In the embodiment I have shown of my invention, the A spacers 10 are of a sufficiently large diameter so that the' distance between opposing spacers 10 on opposite sh lr 4 and '6 will be relatively. small thereby avoiding havin dead spacers in which tobacco gum and tobacco shreds can accumulate.

The tobacco is compressed arid guided between spacers 10 by plates 16 and 18. The tobacco is then pulled through the spacers 10 by said spacers and further compressed during the cutting action between said spacers as well as between the sidewalls of the knives 8 as shown in Fig. 2. This arrangement permits no free surface at the sides of knives 8 to which the sap could adhere and build up. The sap will be wiped off from all parts of the cutting mechanism by the compressed tobacco itself and will continuously be removed by said tobacco. This feature it will be noted, is invaluable since it dispenses with the need for mechanical scraping means which would not be as satisfactory for the removal of the sap from the cutters, since sap would then accumulate on the scrapers.

At the same time by heating the knives the sap in the tobacco will remain in liquid state to facilitate the wiping off by the tobacco as described above. Again at the same time the knives may be rotated at high speed so as to further facilitate the removal of the tobacco sap from the knives by centrifugal force.

Gumming of the knives can also be prevented by cooling the knives. In this case, a film of water will condense continuously on the surfaces of the knives thereby preventing the gum from coming in contact with the knives themselves. The film and gum will then be thrown off by centrifugal force or be wiped off by the tobacco itself, thus preventing the gum from sticking on the knives.

When heating or cooling means are employed with my cutting apparatus, the spacers 10 may be made of insulating material to prevent the over-heating or overcooling of the tobacco itself.

The knives and their supporting shafts may be made from anysuitable material, and be of any suitable construction which will facilitate their being heated or cooled as for example by electrical heating elements such as Calrod" eleme' 's'f'or fiuid circulating lme'ans. I have shown how "this can be'ddne-bymaking their supports of hollovfv co'nst'ruc'tion," so as to allow either the heating materi rbr 'the"'cooling"material to be'located therein, thereby heating'or' cooling" the cutting means.

The"inv'ention"described may therefore be varied" in construction within the scope of the claims, for the partici'ilar'device selectedto illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The

mediurfi'wh'reby'the accumulation of gum on the surface ofisaidrollwill be avoided.

2 ,A 'tobacco'cutting mechanism comprising, a pair of substantially parallel coacting rolls, at least one of saidrolls" having" extending from the surface thereof a plu'rality of substantiallyannular cutting elements, insulated's'pacers positionedbetween said cutting elements, at least said onerollha'ving-a conduit therein extending frdm end to endfor' the reception ofa temperature controlling medium, whereby the accumulation of gum on the 's'uifaceof 's ai'd r'oll will be avoided.

3."A "toba"cco cutting mechanism comprising, a pair of"s'ubsta"ntially parallel 'coacting rolls, at least one of said'rollshaving extendingfrom the surface thereof a plurality "of substantially annular-cutting elements, at least"said'one"roll havin'g'a conduit therein extending fromendtoend for the reception of a temperature controlling medium whereby the accumulation of gum on the surface of said 'rollwill be avoided and means to drive said rolls at sufliciently'high speeds to throw gum produced during cutting away from said knives by centrifugal 4. A tobacco cutting mechanism comprising, a

plurality of substantially annular cutting elements, at least said one roll having a conduit therein extending from end to end for the reception of a temperature controlling medium whereby "-the' accumulation of gum on the surfaceof said roll will be avoided, means for driving said rollsat speeds high enough to project gum away from said knives, large diameter spacer'members posi-' tioned between said circular knives and-means for feeding tobacco to said cutters at a rate suflicient to'cause the tobacco to contact all knife surfaces to preventgum from accumulating thereon.

5. A tobacco cuttingmechanism-comprising, compression guides, means for feeding a supply of tobacco into said guides, a pair of substantially parallel coacting rolls for receiving tobacco from said guides at .least .one' of said rolls having extendingfrorn the surfacethereofa I plurality of substantiallyannular cutting elements, at least said one roll having a conduit therein extending from end to end for the reception of a temperature controlling medium,.. whereby. the accumulation of gum 4 on the surface of said roll will be avoided and driving means for said rolls for simultaneously subjecting said tobacco to a cutting action and to project away from said cutters gum.

produced during said cutting.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES'PATENTS pair of substantially "parallel" "coacting mus; at l'easrone of said rolls having extending from the surface thereof a 

